Associations Strategy Facilitation

Trade and Professional Associations Facilitation

Hewat Strategic Edge offers powerful resources to support associations in their drive to build value for their members. Our role is to make this task less daunting by focusing your attention on the elements that are key to an association’s success.

“Fertilizer Canada is dedicated to delivering exceptional member value to the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in our industry. Hewat Strategic Edge has been invaluable in facilitating our strategic plan, assisting us with our governance reviews and providing support to strengthen our system of committees.”

Garth Whyte, President and CEO of Fertilizer Canada

Member Value

As an association we have members as our primary customers. There are no absolute determinants of member value. In some associations members pay millions annually and perceive value. In other associations, members pay $500 annually and don’t perceive value.

Value is perceived as the sum of all the services utilized; activities done on their behalf; interactions with the association by phone, over the internet and at meetings. Value is the sum of all these things, less the actual payments, headaches, disappointments etc. It is an equation – What it costs, against the net balance of everything experienced – Is it worth it?

Eight ways we can help to support Association performance

Vision Statement A brief description of your organization of the future

Pillars of Success The foundation of your organization’s success

Multi-year Objectives Targets for each Pillar of Success

Measures Indicators of achievement- dashboard

Key Initiatives Projects or programs that will drive the achievement of the Strategic Objectives

Set the strategic direction that will lead to your success. This is a critical first step, in your drive for success, which enables everybody in your organization to be “singing from the same song sheet” and gets people focused on results—the right results.

Our Strategic Framework combines the utility of a balanced scorecard approach, with the power of a vision as a touchstone for decision-making. It facilitates the articulation of outcomes and the identification of required improvements. In short, it demonstrates leadership.

We help associations review their governance structures, bylaws, operating policies and annual governance cycle. We can enable stronger leadership, timely decision-making and consequently reduce the frustrations on the part of Board, committee participants and staff.

We work with associations to ensure they have set their strategic direction and have processes to build budgets, work plans and project plans that are aligned to the strategic direction of the association and are not too time-consuming.

Committees must be instrumental in generating progress on the key issues facing their members.

We work with associations to create a uniform approach across all committees and to provide the skills and knowledge to both staff and committee chairs to ensure the required leadership.

Associations should focus on three audiences; first our members, to ensure there is strong awareness of the services available; second influencers and other stakeholders to generate more awareness and support for the priorities of our members; and third, the public to promote the benefits that are delivered by our members.

We work with associations to design an effective communications strategy.

It is important that associations continuously improve their programs and services to clients so that they are both financially sustainable and delivering greater benefits to members.

We work with associations to ensure that each program and service operates as an effective business unit, which delivers value proposition(s) that are valued by members and derive the required revenues to be sustainable.

We work with associations to strengthen the staff and increase capacity by providing more certainty around roles, responsibilities and ongoing professional development.

Associations should periodically define the challenges that are facing their sector and triage the priorities. They should then build and implement advocacy strategies.

We work with associations to build advocacy strategies and to create the tools to implement the strategy.

“The content far exceeded my expectations. The process HSE followed from the workshop through to the step-by-step recommendations contained in the report make sense to me. So, even though there is so much work to be done – I don’t feel overwhelmed by the tasks at hand.”